VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds completed the sweep over the UNBC Timberwolves (0-4) on home opening weekend with a commanding 80-58 victory Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Gym.
"The challenge for us today was having a similar mindset to yesterday and not taking them lightly," said UBC head coach Erin McAleenan after UBC improved to 2-0 on the Canada West regular season. "In the third and fourth quarters UNBC went on their runs, so I'm most proud of how we managed that. I thought we did a good job settling in and getting stops and still having unselfish ball movement. On top of that,
Emily Martindale came out and shot the ball really well. For all the time and effort she's been putting in, I'm really happy to see that pay off for her."
Martindale had 17 points and went five-for-seven from three for the 'Birds with three assists, second-year guard Olivia Weekes was one rebound shy of a double-double with 25 points and nine boards, and
Hailey Counsell put up 11 points with five assists in the win.
UNBC captain Alina Shakirova put up 19 points with four rebounds and three assists, while Jenna Korolek went six-for-six from the floor for 13 points and added three steals for the Timberwolves.
Azalya Forstbauer snagged a steal and laid it in for an 11-8 UBC edge midway through the first quarter as the 'Birds built up a lead through the late stages of the first and held a 19-8 advantage after one. Shakirova pulled up from beyond the arc in the second and nailed a triple to cut the deficit to five at 22-17, but the 'Birds regrouped and a Counsell corner three made it 31-17. A pair of Shakirova free throws briefly kept UNBC within 10 before the T-Birds entered the half up 38-24.
Down twenty after three, Jenna Korolek opened the fourth quarter with a tough finish in the paint and Amrit Manak knocked down a three for the Timberwolves at 62-49. Weekes checked back into the game and earned an and one for a 67-52 lead before Taelor Coxford restored the twenty-point lead at 75-55 and the 'Birds held steady through to the 80-58 win.
Next up for the Thunderbirds is a trip out to Langley for a series against the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday, November 18th at 6:00 p.m. (PT) and Saturday, November 19th at 5:00 p.m. (PT). UNBC will look to bounce back as they travel to Abbotsford for a two-game set against the UFV Cascades.
"At one point we had four first years on the floor at the same time, so there's a lot of excitement about the future," said McAleenan as the 'Birds look to build on their opening weekend success. "The fact that they were able to step in and play right away this weekend is great. A few of them you can tell are 17 or 18-years-old playing against older women, but as they continue to get stronger and more experience there's so much potential. We're really excited."
